The Encyclopedia Brittanyca
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 204 through 210: Brittany knows what's going on, but no one believe her because... well, it's Brittany...
1. Chapter 1: On Legend

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth cycle, and ninth cycle._

_Now comes the tenth cycle. And since that feels like it should be special, this is what I'm doing: Cycle 10 will feature my top 15 of some favorite things from Glee. Characters, ships, friends... It will be daily ficlets for numbers 15 down to 2, but number 1 will be a 7-chapter story :) Here we go!_  
_**Coming in at number one!**_

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Legend"  
Brittany**

It had been a hot topic around the halls of McKinley High for going on two weeks. Principal Figgins had been trying to suss out what was going on, but no one seemed to have a clue, even as the 'usual suspects' were brought through Figgins' office… nothing.

No one knew what was going on, but that didn't stop them from taking guesses. What they knew was this: Nearly two weeks before, the staff and students had come in to find a small bell looped to all the door handles. Every time they were opened, they jingled and chimed. They would hear them as the janitor took the better part of morning removing each one of them.

A few mornings later, the door had been left open to the auditorium. Coach Sylvester cried 'Glee Club,' though it didn't go very far. A couple mornings more went by before their ghost decorator pulled another act, leaving paper airplanes made from the pages of an old phonebook here and there throughout the library. The janitor had threatened to quit if they didn't stop this, wanted Figgins to install security cameras around the school. That wasn't making any progress…

Brittany was sitting at the piano, forehead on the edge, staring down at the keys, which she poked and poked at. A few of the others had arrived for Glee practice as well, waiting on the others. As was to be expected these days, they were discussing this bit of mystery they were having.

"Maybe the janitor's trying to force Principal Figgins to give him a raise," Artie looked to the others.

"Should have heard the string of choice words that was coming out of him while he was removing the bell off the science class door, trust me… He didn't do this," Kurt shook his head.

"Did you do this?" Mercedes looked to Puck, who was sitting with Quinn. He held up his hands, as though to say 'sure, blame me.' And then…

"It's a love story."

They looked over to Brittany, still bent over the keys. They looked to one another, before turning back, seeing as Brittany lifted her head. The place where she'd been resting her head had left a mark, straight across her forehead. She didn't pay attention to it, didn't even seem to know it was there. It had certainly drawn the others attention; they kept staring.

"It's Patches," she nodded.

"Patches…" Kurt repeated, as the others chuckled lightly. "You mean Peter Geller?" Again, she nodded. The others nodded as well, though more sarcastically so.

"I don't know who the other one is," Brittany continued, undisturbed, deep in thought, more so for her. "But if we find out, then maybe… they can make it work," she suggested, smiling to herself, to them, nodded hopefully.

The others shared looks, then turned back to each other, continuing to discuss amongst themselves. Brittany stopped nodding, her smile fading. She looked back to the piano keys, rubbing at her forehead with the heel of her hand.

She was used to being so very carefree, nothing would bother her. It was hard to catch her in moments where she was ever truly affected… she didn't even let them see it. At any other time, she might have let it go, any other occasion… But she knew she was right, and they didn't believe her. She didn't understand why.

It continued to bother her, throughout the day. No one really took attention to it… 'distracted' wasn't exactly a new look on her.

She wanted them to believe her. She didn't like how they'd just turned away from her like what she'd said didn't matter. Come to think of it, she was aware of them, and others, looking away from her like this.

Then the idea came to her, a very tiny light bulb coming on over her head.

She just had to prove it to them. They'd see she was right, and then they wouldn't look away. She'd never felt this way before, and she didn't want to feel it again… she didn't like it.

How would she prove it though? She knew about Patches, about Peter… But that had been a chance discovery by itself. She had discovered it though, she had part of the solution of what would otherwise have continued to happen with no one the wiser… She liked mysteries, even if she'd never been able to understand them enough to have a breakthrough early enough… there was a first time for everything.

THE E… TO BE CONTINUED! TOMORROW!


	2. Chapter 2: On Determination

_And on we go!_

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Determination"**

The next morning, Brittany entered the halls of McKinley, fresh from her decision, that the only way to let them see that she was right would be to get them proof, she got lucky. There had been a new 'strike.'

Their ghost… No, she knew the truth; she'd call it as such. Patches had plastered smiley faces on the ceilings, throughout the halls, left a trail of smiles for those who liked to gaze up… Of course, Brittany was one of those, though she knew it wasn't meant for her.

The janitor had just stormed right out, didn't bother going through the trouble. The halls' ceilings were thus left to continue smiling down on them until someone would finally decide to do something about it.

Brittany wanted to get one of them. That was what they did on those crime shows, right? They collected evidence… She just had to find a way to reach the ceiling. She saw Finn up ahead, and she ran. "Finn, Finn!" she called. He stopped and turned. "Can I climb on your shoulders?"

"What?" he blinked.

"You're, like… freakishly tall," she nodded, as though her reasons were self-explanatory. "So your tallness and my tallness together, I can reach the smile," she pointed to the ceiling with a smile of her own. Finn looked up as well.

"I… Sorry, I need to… get to basketball practice," he explained with an apologetic nod before he moved off down the hall. Brittany frowned to herself, though only briefly. There were other tall guys at McKinley…

She made her pitch to everyone she saw that cracked the height requirement, even Shelly Stonebrook, the volleyball team captain. She was as tall and as evasive as Finn and the others. So it wouldn't be shoulders… Where did they keep the ladders?

She remembered making out with a guy in the janitor's closet once… She'd had the ladder in her back the whole time, so she just had to find it again… Was it on the first or second floor? She walked the halls trying to find it again, but it was as though it was one of those places you could never find again… She spent morning alternating between being in class and searching for the closet.

She'd downed lunch in two or three gulps and she was off again. Santana asked where she was off to, but she didn't explain. She didn't want to see her looking away like the others. No, she'd get her smiley face, she'd get her proof, and it would be alright. To get that, she had to find… Hey, right after she'd left her closet make-out session, she'd come in for pudding… Standing in the hall outside the cafeteria, she'd pulled the memory from the recesses of her mind. The door should be… She spun around… there it was!

She opened the door and… the ladder was gone… She frowned, then startled at a loud scratching noise. Her head turned, her blonde ponytail whipping around.

Principal Figgins was climbing on top of the rusty ladder, looking royally annoyed as students walking by gave a chuckle. She watched as he picked off the first few smiles, let them tumble to the ground. She gasped and hurried to grab one of them, moving right along.

Yes! Now she had her evidence. She looked at the piece of paper, which had stuck to the ceilings all this time with the assistance of a piece of rolled up masking tape. It was nothing too out of the ordinary, it was… nothing. It told her nothing she didn't already know. She sighed, her arms falling back to her sides. She still had no proof to show anyone.

"Brittany? Are you okay?" She looked up to find Miss Pillsbury standing next to her, and she startled.

"Where'd you come from?" she blinked. Emma just smiled. Brittany frowned. "I'm fine…" Emma kept staring, which made the blonde nervous.

"Come on," she gave her a nod. "Let's step in to my office." Brittany was no stranger to faculty visits at this point, so she followed. She came to sit across from the guidance counsellor's desk, still clutching the paper smile. "Now…" Emma started. "What's going on? I've never known you to be upset like this…" Brittany looked up. Was it that obvious? So why hadn't the others said anything?

Wait… Did she know what she'd told the others? Were they going to get Patches in trouble because of her? No, no, she wasn't going to do that to him… She wouldn't talk, wouldn't break.

"You know you can talk to me?" Emma was very encouraging, but Brittany just stared back in silence. "Why'd you take one of those smiles?"

"Evidence," she spoke before she could stop. She sighed.

"Evidence?" Emma repeated. "Evidence for what?"

"I want them to believe me," Brittany once again broke her self-imposed vow of silence.

"Believe you about what?" Emma asked. Brittany quietly considered this, staring back at the woman, then looking down to the smile in her lap for a moment before looking at Emma again.

"I want them to believe me," she repeated, finding the words had already done a sufficient job of explaining her point. Emma got it, staring back at the girl. She had to admit she could understand it being hard, taking her seriously sometimes. But seeing the bit of hurt, deep in those blue eyes, she wanted to give her nothing but belief.

"Right… Well, look," Emma got back into counsellor mode, "I know it might seem hard right now, but… Just give it time. Stick to it, don't give up and before you can realize it, you'll get your answer. These things, they have a way of sneaking up on you," she nodded. Brittany looked at her, eyes growing furtive. Emma held up her hand to draw her attention back. "Just keep trying. You'll get there."

Brittany considered this, and she smiled. "Coach Sylvester is so wrong about you," were her departing words, leaving the counsellor quiet.

She got back into the hall, walking along as she stuck the smile under her Cheerio skirt's waistband. She had to do like she said, not think about…

Hey… Maybe if…

She smiled and ran off to class with her idea.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Chapter 3: On Covert

_La-di-da, new chapter! :)_

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Covert"**

When last bell rang, Brittany got up and moved out of class, shaking off any pursuit. If there was something she knew how to do, she could get by and evade people… That would come back to bite her later that day.

She didn't go to Glee practice. She was going to get her proof that night, and then when she went into that room again, they'd know. She got a number of text messages, and she answered them claiming she was sick.

"Sorry, sweetie, you can't use your phone in here," the assistant librarian whispered as she leaned over her cart. Brittany hit send and put the phone away.

"Sorry," she whispered back to the woman, who smiled and went back to work.

She'd decided she would catch him in the act. And in order to do that, she would have to stay at school that night. She would hide in the library, and once everyone was gone she would wait for Patches.

She wasn't really one to drop by the public library too often… She wasn't that much of a reader and she never had time to finish them… But she still went, sometimes. And when she went, she saw him, sitting in front.

'Patches,' as they called him, because of his jacket, was often busy as people passed by. He would always be doing something and when people got too close to him, he barked. Brittany always gave him a dollar, almost like a passage toll.

She had seen him polishing little bells for a while, she hadn't really paid attention to it, except when she'd happen to notice them ringing. When she'd shown up at school that one morning and seen all the bells, she'd known… those were Patches' bells. They were old, she wasn't sure where he'd find them, but he'd given them as much shine as they had left in them.

The love story part… Well, maybe that was more of guess work than an actual fact. It made sense to her though, so she could hold on to that. The next few days, and the new strikes by Patches, all seemed to support that theory.

She didn't know how he got in, and if she could catch him in the act, then maybe she'd know. So the first thing she had to do was stay hidden until everyone was gone, and wait for him. It was time to hide. It was a good thing no one had actually managed to make eye contact with her in the process or she would have been caught… or scared out of the effort. Her face, her whole stance just screamed 'sneaking around here, don't mind me!'

It took her a while to find her hiding spot, knowing she'd have to wait there a while, she slid into position… and she waited.

As the minutes ticked by, her mind wandered, as it was bound to. What brought her back was an itch on the back of her knee. No, she couldn't let them see her, maybe she could just try and reach… She whimpered when she couldn't reach it, gasped when she whimpered, and squeezed her lips together when she gasped. Now she was quiet… but still itchy. Suddenly all those Cheerio practices, kept standing in that pyramid, came back to her. If she could sustain it there, she could here as well. Almost on reflex her face moved into cheer smile. It worked, and her mind was free to wander some more.

Finally, she could see the lights were turned off, and in the distance… locks being locked…

Locks? Locks!

Brittany came out of her hiding place – scratched behind her knee – and moved slowly up the darkened aisle, looking beyond… She could see the librarian and the assistant librarian disappearing up the hall, and now Brittany was alone… in the school library… locked in. She hadn't thought about that.

Maybe she could find a way out. If Patches had gotten in, then she could get out. Or she could stay there and wait… he might do something in the library again. So she would stay, and wait… She went to sit in the back, took out her phone. She had more messages, which she answered. There was one split second where she wondered about taking it out again, after having been warned, but she just shrugged and went with it.

The battery on her phone died. She frowned, but then remembered how she had her charger with her. She reached into her bag and grabbed it before getting up to find an outlet. She walked around, bent at an angle to scan the lower walls. As she got closer to the front though, she heard a noise… jingling… Bells again? No, they were keys! Someone was coming. Was it Patches? Would he have keys?

She peeked through the stacks and saw… It was the janitor. What was he doing there? No, it was Patches, and his love story… Was he… And the janitor? No… Maybe Artie was right? No, she knew, it was Patches, he was doing this.

So what was she supposed to do? She watched as he pulled the door opened, and then she ducked down to her knees, crawling back toward the back. She was getting rug burn on her knees, which slowed her down. She needed to get back to her hiding place until he went away. Why did she have to forget to charge her phone on that…

She stopped… She didn't have her phone anymore, just her charger. She looked behind her. Her phone had been dropped, then kicked up against the stacks. She felt her heart race; she got back on her feet, she couldn't crawl anymore, her knees were red…

She tried to scoot along as small as she could, in all her height. Her eyes were focused on her outstretched hand, as she approached the phone. She was there, almost had it…

A hand grabbed the phone, and another took her arm. She looked up, finding the hands belonged to the janitor. He looked victorious… She gulped.

"Hello," her voice was small. He let go and she stood back up. She hesitated. "Can I have my phone?"

"I knew you'd come back," he nodded. She just looked scared, not realizing he thought she was 'the ghost.'

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Chapter 4: On Trouble

_And on we go!_

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Trouble"**

It was amazing how crabby people could be when you made them come back from their evening at home to their place of work.

Brittany had been sitting quietly in the library, the janitor pacing about like a satisfied hunter, for about twenty minutes when they started arriving. Principal Figgins came first. He marched up to the table, was about to start talking, but someone beat him to it.

"Brittany!" Sue Sylvester's voice resonated against the walls of the library, so used to silence. The girl startled, shrinking into her chair as the coach came up to argue with Figgins and to chastise the blonde. Luckily, Mr. Schuester arrived quickly. Brittany just sat there as the adults argued, oblivious to her. Coach Sylvester claimed Mr. Schuester had corrupted her, to which he struck back with the fact Sue used her Cheerios as spies. The janitor insisted he'd done what Figgins was unable to do; he'd caught the culprit. Figgins looked to Brittany, and her perpetual faraway gaze. He sighed and stepped up to her.

"Will you tell me what happened here?" he asked, staring down. Sue and Will both stopped shouting, looking back to their student; they wanted to hear as well. All eyes on her, Brittany was quiet at first, as her mind struggled with how to respond. She could lie… They might believe her…

"I fell asleep. I got locked in. My phone isn't working," she stated very matter-of-factly.

"She's lying…" was the start of the janitor's protest, but Figgins cut him off, looking back to Brittany. Her spacyness did tend to back up her claim.

"Detention, one month. Miss Sylvester and Mr. Schuester will decide whether they see fit to add further punishment in their respective clubs. No more of this, understood?" Brittany gulped, but she nodded. "Alright, I'm going home; I suggest everyone does the same," he looked to Brittany and the others alike. The blonde made a quick exit. She'd have to face the wrath of Sylvester in the morning, but not now.

The 'wrath' came, but she could take it, and the detention. It was the look on Mr. Schuester's face that made her stomach sink. He was waiting, at the door, when she showed up for Glee. She stopped in front of him.

"Mr. Schue…" she started, but he stopped her.

"You didn't fall asleep," he opened. She didn't reply. "What were you thinking?" he shook his head, and she looked down. "You skipped practice, and we were concerned, and you were hiding in the library? Why?"

"I… I fell asleep," she maintained. She didn't want to say.

"Brittany," he went on shaking his head. "Look, you got off easy, do you realize that? You could have gotten in a lot more trouble, but more than that you could have hurt the club, your friends who worried for you." Brittany looked through the door. The others were there, watching the argument. Will saw this as well and he sighed. "Go on and sit. We'll talk more later."

Brittany entered the room, sitting in the back, small in her place. She didn't want to meet any eyes, which could be hard, with the way they all looked at her here and there throughout practice.

She was frustrated, and though she tried to hide it, she couldn't. She was trying to be good, to participate, but her mind wasn't in it. Once again she was thinking… of Patches, of his acts, which continued. Evidently they'd missed him, because when they'd all arrived the next morning, he'd left them more décor.

She'd wanted so much to show them that she was telling the truth, that she was right. All she'd managed to show them at this point was that she was crazy and had nothing to show. No, she just made trouble for everyone.

She didn't want to get Glee Club in trouble… She kind of loved it. Maybe Miss Pillsbury was wrong after all. Maybe she should just let it go. It would make it so much easier on everyone.

As practice ended, she felt a hand on her arm and she looked over. She smiled, seeing Santana there. "Hi," she nodded to her.

"What's up with you and Schuester?" she asked. "And with Coach Sylvester, and the janitor, too… Everyone's giving you the eye." Brittany looked back, and she saw Mike, Tina, and Artie were also gathered around her.

"What happened to your knees?" Mike looked at them, and the others did as well.

"Did you really hide out in the library overnight?" Artie followed in the questioning. This last bit of information was new to the other three, and they stared back to the blonde. "Is it about the ghost again?" he asked, the only one of them who'd been there for the first conversation. She turned her eyes up to him, not saying a thing yet. From the looks on the others' faces though, they seemed to have heard about her theory already. Brittany looked down to her knees, tried to pick at a small scab… She didn't want to look.

"Maybe…" she spoke slowly. There was silence. She couldn't see the others' silent bit of decision making. But then, just as she'd let her knee go…

"Okay, if you're sure," Tina spoke. Brittany's head shot back up.

"What?" she asked, looking to all of them. Santana gave a smile.

"We'll help you," Mike told her. "If there's more of us out there, maybe there's a better chance you'll get through this in one piece," he gave her an encouraging smile, and they chuckled.

"Okay," she finally nodded. She got up, along with Santana, and the five left together. Mr. Schuester was still putting his things away, and Brittany hesitated to look at him as she passed him.

She added him to the list of those she needed to get this proof for. She was made determined once again, now that she had the others by her side. She wasn't going to let them down now that they'd put their trust in her.

TO BE CONTINUED


	5. Chapter 5: On Leads

_Two more chapters to go!_

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Leads"**

Brittany had approached the library doors with much apprehension. Would she get the stink eye from Mrs. Wilkes and Miss Farrell for having dared invade the library? She hadn't told the others this though. She simply walked along, among her brand new allies, as they entered the big room and passed through the stacks toward the back.

"This is where I scratched my knees," Brittany whispered like she was giving them a tour. "That's where I was hiding." They sat around one of the tables. It was Friday afternoon, and the library was even more deserted than usual.

Even though they'd taken that leap of faith in offering to help Brittany, it was clear the other four were still not without their doubts about the whole thing. So they had Brittany explain it all to them, more so than simply stating who she thought it was. They needed to know the why, the whole story. So she told them everything she knew, thanks to their prompts. She told them about the bells, all those bells that Patches had. They had never bothered looking at what he was doing when they would pass him, only Brittany had.

The bells were one thing they could hang a bit of trust on, like it was okay to really put their faith in her now, though still with an option to back out.

"Maybe he's just bored," Santana had suggested with a shrug. "Though I have no idea why he'd come back here to entertain himself," she chuckled.

"How does he even get in?" Artie had then asked. "He has to have keys, or else…"

"A public school in Lima with a principal like Figgins?" Mike pointed out, and Artie bowed his head in accord. "I doubt it would take a lot to get in here, even without keys?"

"But he could still have them somehow, right?" Tina added. "If he knew someone…" They looked back to Brittany. "Maybe it is a love story, like you said." Brittany smiled at that. "Or maybe friendship," she added.

"It would give him a place to stay," Artie agreed.

"The auditorium?" Santana jumped in, and the others looked at her. She shrugged. "He was in Glee Club, he might like that, and the seats are pretty cushy," she pointed out. Brittany nodded at this.

"So he sleeps in the auditorium, maybe takes the stage… and he puts things around the school," Mike marked off their facts and their suppositions. "Whatever he does it for, are we supposed to stop him?"

Brittany didn't talk much… She watched, the others, the room… She always made friends easy. She was happy, always happy… Well, most of the time. She saw people and it wasn't about anything more than getting to know them, to look beyond what the others didn't bother to. She'd never asked for anything in return for that, not until this one time, where she'd asked for them to believe in her.

She hadn't really considered these things before – her mind didn't work that way – but being with them now, knowing they were on her side again, she felt better than she had since this whole thing had started.

Looking around as she did, she spotted Miss Farrell go by, leaving her cart behind and… she had this weird look on her face as though… Was she sneaking around?

"Maybe it's like a… Where is she… Brittany?" Santana called up. The blonde had just gotten up and wandered off. The other four scrambled to follow, unsure whether to stay quiet or ask where she was going.

Brittany followed Miss Farrell with slow steps. Mrs. Wilkes was always kind of odd to talk to… But Miss Farrell wasn't. She let them call her Hannah, though most of them still called her Miss Farrell. She'd gone to McKinley like them, almost ten years before, knew the place in and out like she couldn't believe – that tended to come in handy for Brittany. Now she wished she'd gone to her when she couldn't find the ladder…

She'd almost lost track of her, almost gotten herself caught, when she'd stopped into this new train of thought. But now she was back on track, and that track was to follow the trail of sneaky Hannah Farrell. She didn't know why she was following her, she just did… Call it unwise, call it curiosity, call it tendencies side-effect of being used as a Cheerio spy.

She came to a sudden stop when she saw Miss Farrell stop just ahead. She was finally made aware of her trail as the others were forced to stop as well. She turned to them and shushed them before turning back to stare around the stack. The others didn't argue, just found whatever they could to look through and see what it was that had gotten Brittany's attention so caught up like this.

Brittany watched Miss Farrell, crouching by one of the rows, to get a book on the bottom row. Everyone shifted to keep their eyes on her as she remained in that position for a moment. Brittany watched her open the book and pull out a piece of paper wedged in between the pages. Once she had it, she stretched back up, unaware of the observers, who stretched up as well. They watched her look back over her shoulder – she didn't see them – before unfolding the paper.

"She's smiling," Tina whispered, and Brittany shushed again.

But Hannah was indeed smiling, as she read the paper. Then she pulled at the pen she had around her neck and used the book as a surface and wrote something on the paper before sticking it back in the pages. She crouched back down, put the book back, and then she stood up, cleared her face, and she moved to rejoin her cart and get back to work.

Brittany was still looking around the stacks, though there was nothing more to see. The others were way ahead of her. Brittany looked back at the sound of Mike's voice. "Go keep look out," he told Artie and Tina. They nodded and went. Mike went the other way.

"Look out for what?" Brittany asked before Santana scooped up her arm and took her toward the row, where Mike had already retrieved the book and found the paper. He gave Brittany a smile and showed it to her. She smiled back, looked to Santana too. She looked at the paper, and she nodded.

"Maybe it's time you talk to Patches."

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. Chapter 6: On Chance

_Blasted computers... Having issues, having to use the library..._

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**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Chance"**

Brittany had decided the best thing to do was for her to go see Patches on her own, because he dealt better with small gatherings, and the five of them would be too much. They had all the proof they needed, but in finding Miss Farrell's note, they had found Brittany had it right all along… a love story, but more…

It was clear now, they had never actually come together, face to face, not yet. Realizing this, Brittany had wondered what it meant they should do… But then she got it. Her new mission was to bring the two of them together. It was like this story she knew, from when she was a kid… like the swan princess in a patched coat… Miss Farrell was there during the day, but Patches could not be seen then. He could only go about during the night…

Saturday morning, and Brittany got dressed to go to the library. She thought Patches might recognize her better if she had her uniform. So she put it on, got her hair up in the ponytail, and she was ready. She grabbed her bag, and she was off.

When she heard the familiar barking, as she neared the library, she wondered if maybe she should wait, but almost right away she pushed the thought and went along. She sat on a bench nearby, quietly watching. He was back at work, he was folding paper again… More paper airplanes maybe?

After a while, she saw him sneak a look, another. He gave a tentative growl, but she remained quiet, gave him a smile and a wave. He stopped growling and got back to folding. After a few moments more, she got up and came to sit on the steps, a couple feet away. He flinched, held on to his half-folded maybe-airplane, keeping a look on her from the corner of his eye. Brittany fished out a dollar from her wallet, put it down in the paper cup at his feet. He grunted and got back to work.

"I go to McKinley, see?" she pointed to the letters on her chest, gave a nod. "You went there, right?" He didn't respond, kept folding. She didn't give up. "I'm in Glee Club, too. You were in Glee Club." He didn't speak, but the mention of Glee Club did do something. So on she spoke. "I have..." she reached into her bag and pulled out the paper smile she'd saved from Figgins and showed it to him. He finally acknowledged her, looking over and taking it from her. He looked up. "The principal took them down, but... I liked them." He seemed to want to say something, but didn't know how. "Also, we found this," she pulled out Miss Farrell's note. He snatched it from her.

"How'd you get this?" he spoke.

"You can talk..." she blinked.

"Of course, I talk," he shook his head, then asked again. "Where did you get this?" he waved the note.

"In a book, in the library. We saw Miss Farrell write on it and..." His eyes grew wide.

"Miss Farrell? That's... that's her name?" he asked, curious now.

"She says we can call her Hannah, but..."

"Hannah..." he repeated, unfolding the note. He read the last sentence, and he smiled, much like Miss Farrell had. "What's your name?"

"Brittany," she replied.

"I'm Peter," he offered his hand, and she shook it. "But I have a feeling you already know that."

"How'd you know?" she blinked. He smirked, amused. He handed her the note back. She looked at it.

"You should put it back where you found it." She continued to look at it, then...

"What's going to fade?" she asked. He looked at her. "Here," she pointed to a line on the note, written in Miss Farrell's pristine handwriting. He smiled, returning to the folded paper. He gave it a few more tweaks, and then he showed it to Brittany. "It's a flower..." she remarked. Peter opened a box at his side and put the completed flower along with the others he'd already done. He picked up another sheet and started to fold again. "Patch... Peter?" He nodded rather than saying 'yes?' "Why don't you go to her?" she asked. He kept on folding, but shook his head.

"Can't... not a good idea," he started one way, then went another.

"Why not?" Brittany asked, baffled at his inability to do something so simple. At least that was how it looked to her, so why not to him?

"You're a good kid, you know that?" He kept folding.

"I am?" He chuckled.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been since someone's spoken to me the way you are? Not pitying me or trying to 'save' me?" He shook his head. "You're like that, and that's great... But I'm still me, and they're still them. Me, I'm the joke, and them... She doesn't need that," he got done with the new flower, put it with the others, then started another one.

"'She'..." Brittany started, trying to figure out who he meant, then she got it. "Oh, Miss Farrell? But... she's nice, really nice," she nodded. He hesitated.

"What does she look like?"

"Well, she has blonde hair, not too long. She always has a headband," she motioned at the area where the band would be. "She has blue eyes... or green, I'm not sure... She was at McKinley too, you know? A little after you though, I think," Brittany nodded.

"Now what do I look like?" Peter spoke slowly, still folding. She looked at him, an idea coming to her again...

"We can fix you up," she nodded.

"We?" he repeated.

"My friends, they helped," she smiled. He didn't reply, still folding. "Don't you want to meet her?" He didn't speak for a minute or so. He snuck a look, to the note still in the blonde's hand.

"What if she says no? What if it doesn't work?" She shrugged.

"What if it does?" He smiled.

"When I was in Glee Club, one day, they gave me the key, to get in... I thought I'd lost it, got in trouble for that. Then when I found it again, I didn't want to say, so I kept it... I don't know, I wanted to go back one day... I saw all these books had been thrown on the ground, they'd started to put them back. I finished putting them back... next time I went, there was a note... We started writing like that..." He paused, looked at her. "Okay."

"Okay, what?" He handed her the flower he'd just finished.

"I want to meet her."

TO BE CONTINUED


	7. Chapter 7: On Truth

_And thus the encyclopedia is done! ;)_

* * *

**"The Encyclopedia Brittanyca: On Truth"**

Brittany had taken Peter to her place. They had no clothes for him there, so she'd called Mike. His clothes would fit. He would bring a clean pair of pants, a shirt and jacket as well as shoes. She would take care of the rest. She waited as Peter finished taking his shower, by finding what she would need. She considered the scissors… Maybe it wouldn't be wise for her to play hairdresser. She put the scissors back.

"You never know how good a shower can be until you don't get one for a while…" Peter spoke as he found her. She looked back, and she chuckled and grinned, for two reasons. The first of these was how different he looked now, clean. The other was due to the fact she'd had nothing else to give him except a fluffy pink bathrobe.

"Looks weird…" she admitted.

"Doesn't feel it," he smiled. "Thanks," he nodded. She indicated for him to sit at the table. She had to fix his nails. There was a knock at the door minutes later.

"It's open!" she called out. Mike came in the door, with all he'd brought, and came into the kitchen to find… manicure hour, with Brittany and the pink-robbed homeless man. "Hi."

"H-hey…" Mike frowned, confused. "I brought what you asked, and I threw in a razor."

"Thanks," Brittany and Peter spoke at the same time.

"Do you need me to…" Mike looked to Brittany. She hesitated, confused. "Do you need help with anything?" Brittany smiled, looking back to Peter, then to Mike.

"Can you cut hair?"

It would take about an hour for them to perform the haircut, nail fix, and beard shave. Peter had gone to change, and when he'd come out, Brittany and Mike were left amazed. He looked so much younger now, he looked… his age.

Brittany had sent Mike on home… she wanted to help Peter get to Miss Farrell on her own, only once she'd called on one more person. She had a way to reach Mr. Schuester, they all did… So she called and asked that he meet her outside McKinley.

When he arrived, Brittany waved to him as he approached. "Hey, Mr. Schue…" He looked confused and concerned.

"What's going on? It's… Saturday, are you…" He had spotted the man standing a couple paces behind. He looked slightly awkward, nervous… kind of familiar? Brittany looked back, signalling for Peter to step forward.

"This is…" she looked to Peter for a moment, then leaned in toward Mr. Schuester. "Patches…" she whispered, standing back again. "This is…" she started again, but then was interrupted.

"Peter Geller," he addressed the man. He nodded. "I don't…"

"Tell him," Brittany nodded to Peter.

"I'm the one who's been putting things around the school," he admitted. "I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, it's a…"

"He's in love with Miss Farrell," Brittany revealed with a nod.

"… long story," Peter finished slowly. Will looked to him, then back to Brittany. She smiled… He knew the whole, real truth now, and it had just chased away the doubt she'd seen in his eyes after her library escapades. That was good.

"We need to go back inside, but I wanted to check with you first. I don't want to get Glee Club in trouble again," she spoke carefully. Will nodded and smiled to himself.

"Thank you, I… I appreciate that," he patted her arm. "I need to know though… What do you have in mind?" She smiled giddily before telling him the plan. She didn't know the whole plan, part of it was still only in Peter's mind. After they'd gotten the go from Will though, Brittany helped Peter prepare, and he told her a bit more.

"I always thought one day I could find her, and… I could do what I used to do best… I would sing to her. Being in Glee Club, it would make me so happy… Well, you know," he looked at her. She smiled and nodded. "I've had her song stuck in my head for weeks," he spoke to himself. Brittany heard him, smiled quietly.

"Good luck," she told him when they were set. He hesitated, then hugged her.

"Thanks… I'll get your friend his clothes back, I promise." He took a breath, and he headed into the auditorium.

Brittany headed back outside, following the trail made from the folded paper flowers.

_[P] "__She'll let you in her house / If you come knockin' late at night / She'll let you in her mouth / If the words you say are right / If you pay the price / She'll let you deep inside / But there's a secret garden she hides_

She'll let you in her car / To go drivin' round / She'll let you into the parts of herself / That'll bring you down / She'll let you in her heart / If you got a hammer and a vise / But into her secret garden, don't think twice"

She wasn't going to invade the moment, as curious as she was. Peter had waited long enough, and so had Hannah. It was about them now, not her 'investigation.' She'd get her answer. She wasn't sure how, but she knew she would.

_[P] "__You've gone a million miles / How far'd you get / To that place where you can't remember / And you can't forget"_

When she'd arrived at school Monday morning, everyone seemed happy, from the janitor to Figgins. There had not been a strike in days. She'd heard something about one paper flower, stuck behind a door, but that was it.

But then she'd gone to the library, and Mrs Wilkes was looking very distracted, had too much on her hands, because Miss Farrell had called in sick that day.

_[P] "__She'll lead you down a path / There'll be tenderness in the air / She'll let you come just far enough / So you know she's really there / And she'll look at you and smile / And her eyes will say / She's got a secret garden / Where everything you want / Where everything you need / Will always stay / A million miles away"_

Brittany was the first to arrive for Glee Club that day. When that happened, she'd sit at the piano and play around with the keys. Eventually the others started to arrive. She wasn't sure what she'd do now, but then…

"Guess who's a no show in front of the library these days," Kurt started, getting Brittany's attention, as he spoke to the others. "Patches, he's just… gone." Brittany felt a flutter in her stomach and a smile on her face. Maybe… maybe… the absent hobo and librarian were taking their long-deserved break from the expected day-to-day. And that was how she knew.

She wouldn't tell them… the rest of the club. Mr. Schuester, Mike, Santana, Artie, and Tina… They knew, they believed her. Miss Farrell and Peter, they were happy, together.

It was good enough for her.

THE END


End file.
